Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Welcome, Sue Brown

MM: Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sue Brown, one of the best voices in M/M erotica romances. Thank you for joining us today.

So tell me, how long have you been writing?

Sue: Thank you for having me here. I’ve been writing for four years now. I was sleeping through a TV programme, and woke up to see two men kissing on screen. It was like a light switched on in my head, and since then I haven’t stopped writing. I started in fanfiction, finally being brave enough to offer a story, Sacrifice in Making Contact (published by Dreamspinner), last year.


MM: What is your favorite subgenre to write?


Sue: I haven’t found it yet. I’ve written cowboys, contemporary, scifi, paranormal, historical and threesomes. Angst – is that a subgenre? I always write angst.


MM: Is there one that you haven’t tried that you see yourself doing in the future?


Sue: I’d like to try BDSM, but I know nothing about the world. It makes me nervous about getting it wrong.


MM: In my opinion, erotica doesn't have to be real all the time to be enjoyable. What are your thoughts?


Sue: I'm a huge fantasy fan and sometimes I just want to read books where all the prejudices and problems that face homosexuals today can be completely ignored. I love reading about a world where attraction and love doesn't automatically attract blatant bigotry.

MM: Who are the authors that you look up to?


Sue: Marion Zimmer Bradley for writing The Catch Trap. It was the first time I read a love story for a gay couple. She also always had homosexual characters. In M/M erotica the first book I read was Bareback by Chris Owen. I blame her for my love of cowboys. I adore her books because I get invested in her characters. JL Langley for the sheer fun of her stories.


MM: What are you working on now?


Sue: I’m finishing up The Lords Tale, the final part of The Fitzwarren Inheritance with RJ Scott and Chris Quinton. I am in the middle of a novel about spousal abuse. I have two other novels planned this year.


MM: When creating your characters, do you have models in mind or are they totally fictional?


Sue: Initially I had the same guys in mind. I am predictable and I like big men. But as I write more the characters are changing, introducing other races and ages. No tentacles though. My aliens have been humanoid.


MM: As an M/M writer, do you feel that the trend is changing where it is becoming more mainstream?


Sue: I hope so, for my own sake. I don’t want to have to write a formulaic heterosexual romance to hit the mainstream. Like most authors I dream of seeing my books in the shops. I’m not giving up on my boys yet.


MM: As a fellow fem in the genre, what is your stance on the difference between male and female gay writers?


Sue: There is a difference and generally I can tell whether I’m reading a story written by a male or a female. There is an edge towards the physical element that male authors bring into their books. I read a male author saying that with female authors it is all about the journey but with men it is about the main event. Do I agree with that? Yes, to a degree.


MM: I read a blog about M/M writer’s losing their imagination because they are writing the same subjects repeatedly, what are your thoughts? http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/?p=42883


Sue: Ah yes, I read that too. Maybe it’s because the genre is still relatively small that it is noticeable, but honestly, if you stand on my local railway station there is advertising for a number of thrillers and they could all read exactly the same. I think one of the best comments I saw was someone who said we might be writing the same things but we are different authors and therefore approach it differently. In Morning Report, I didn’t set out to reproduce Bareback by Chris Owen, even though it’s about cowboys.


MM: What is it about M/M that pleasures you to write it?


Sue: Two gorgeous men getting it on? I mean, come on, what’s not to like?


MM: Where can we find you on the web?


Sue: I live here http://suebrownstories.livejournal.com/ and I have a website here http://www.suebrownstories.co.uk/


MM: Thank you for taking the time to spend with us today Sue and continued success on your work. If you would like to purchase the above books, click on them.

*****



Andrew’s life is a cliché: he’s a gay man trapped in a loveless marriage, thanks to his religious, overbearing mother. Then a new couple moves in down the street, and Andrew finds himself falling for Nathan in a big way. Nathan is straight, married, and just about to be a father, but after one fateful night out together at a club, Nathan has to face the fact that his feelings for Andrew go way beyond that of a friend and neighbor.



When Andrew’s wife asks for a divorce, both men’s lives are thrown into disarray. Arguments about their responsibilities to their wives and children, doubting themselves and each other, and some harrowing lies pull them apart… but they never leave each other’s thoughts.




Buylink

The first time Max lays eyes on Robert Armitage, he knows exactly what he wants to happen. Tall, broad, and gorgeous, Robert pushes all his buttons. When Robert asks Max to show him around town, the attraction between them only intensifies. But Max is just a night porter and Robert a guest at his hotel before his wedding, and Max knows even as they sleep together that in the morning he'll have to send the groom on his way.


A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.

4 comments:

S.Lira said...

Thank you Sue for being here!

Avril Ashton said...

Man, two more to add to my trusty M/M folder. These sound amazing, and great interview!

S.Lira said...

Thx for stopping by Avril. Sues books look very enticisng. Cant wait to read from all the excerpts

Tina Donahue said...

Your books sound fascinating, Sue - can't wait to pick one up. :)